[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.(Never credited by name or even as the Mo-town house band on any Motown album liner notes until the 70s, theywere known by few other than hardcore jazz and R&B denizens in Par-adise Valley, and then primarily for their club work.) The influence of 0306815867_ribowsky:6.125 x 9.25 4/22/09 11:06 AM Page 139SPLITSVILLE IN HITSVILLE 139the Funk boys on all Motown producers, and vice versa, seems to haveinflamed the egos of people who otherwise worked in perfect harmony,with each side seeking the last word.And (as shall be seen) the debatetakes on added detail and clarity in light of HDH s future work withthe Supremes.When the track was done, HDH coated it with thick echoes, leav-ing little room for the vocals to breathe.Submerged in the din, theSupremes approached irrelevance, although Ross valiantly kept pacewith the breakneck tempo, needing to upshift her voice to soprano levelto do it.To HDH, the record is a reflection of their arrogant phase, andthe lesson learned was not to drown out the Supremes, or any of Mo-town s wondrous singers. We learned from every one of our songs, Eddie notes, especially a song like that. Even so, the HDH magic was still apparent.The chugging melodyand big-band kick won quick approval from Gordy s Friday-morningpanel of song arbiters; though again, when Gordy asked his famousone-criterion question regarding a side s release If you had a dollar,would you rather buy a hot dog or this record? the aye or nay votesby Mickey Stevenson, Janie Bradford, Barney Ales, Clarence Paul,HDH, even Smokey, mattered not a whit if Berry liked it and theydidn t.Going unanimous on such open ballots at times like those wasusually a wise decision. Lovelight was released on Halloween, when the Supremes wereon tour with the Revue and were promoted to the third act on the cardbehind Martha and the Vandellas and the fading Contours.But theycouldn t possibly reproduce the densely layered cacophony of the recordon stage and so they stuck with the raw emotion of My Heart Can tTake It No More. At the Apollo gigs, they cooked up a dramatic affec-tation.Looking prim but sexy in taffeta knee-length dresses and wigscoolly angled to the side, they began with their backs to the audience,then turned as one on the opening line, Ross extending her left arm fol-lowed by Wilson and Ballard doing the same.Their voices were strongand cohesive, and if Diane was still making her eyes pop she also wasmore at ease than ever.The crowd gave them an appreciative, if still nomore than polite, round of applause.The tepid reception notwithstanding, during the show s finale,when all the Motown acts emerged to join in on the Miracles ShopAround, Diane quickly strayed from Mary and Flo on the far left endof the line of performers and elbowed her way next to Smokey, whereno one could fail to see her singing and bumping hips with the star of 0306815867_ribowsky:6.125 x 9.25 4/22/09 11:06 AM Page 140140 THE SUPREMESthe show as if both were the headliners while other acts looked ateach other and rolled their eyes.The upward flight of Lovelight justified that sort of preening.The single, backed with the soft, bluesy Standing at the Crossroads ofLove (the title of which, but not the song, HDH would later recycle as Standing in the Shadows of Love for the Four Tops), quickly crackedthe Top Hundred in mid-November.But its climb was abated, alongwith every other showbiz product, on Friday, November 22.On thatday, everyone inside Motown huddled around radios, shocked at thetragic news that President John F.Kennedy had been murdered in Dallas.Gordy was so distraught he sent everyone home for the day, cancel-ing several sessions.Incredibly, even as the president was fighting for hislife, and people around Hitsville shuffled about in an almost catatonicstate, Marvin Gaye s thoughts were elsewhere.Peeved that his latestrecord, Can I Get a Witness, wasn t making much noise on thecharts, he had scheduled a meeting with Gordy for that day to hash itout.Ignoring the breaking news from Dallas, he barged into Gordy soffice, where he chewed out Barney Ales s sales department.After Gordyhad assured him they were pushing hard for him, Berry jocularly toldhim to be a good boy, okay? Gaye, irrationally taking it as a racial in-sult, screamed, See! See, BG! That s a whole bunch of bullshit.Youthink I m a boy just like the white man! Exasperated, and in no moodto put up with Marvin s bullshit, not today anyway, Gordy snapped.With a roar, he swept his arm angrily across his desktop, sending pa-pers, picture frames, and whatever else flying across the room.Then,getting in Marvin s face, he seethed, Don t you realize the presidentwas killed today? before elbowing Gaye out of the way and goinghome to grieve for JFK.(By some accounts but not Gordy s hepinned Gaye against the desk, his hand around his neck, not lettinghim breathe before being pulled off of him by other Motown execu-tives.) In March 1964, he would name his illegitimate son by MargaretNorton Kennedy William Gordy. Out on the road, the Motown tour dates were canceled for thatweekend.The performers sat around in their hotel in a daze, cryingwhile they watched the funeral services.For the Supremes, the timing of Lovelight also fell victim to the shots in Dealey Plaza, the ongoingshroud of mourning across the country blunting record sales for themand everyone else looking forward to a strong holiday market.Admirably, Lovelight, which likely would have flirted with theTop Ten, still managed to do well enough; it hit the Top Forty around 0306815867_ribowsky:6.125 x 9.25 4/22/09 11:06 AM Page 141SPLITSVILLE IN HITSVILLE 141Christmas time, peaking at No.23 (and 2 R&B) early in 64.Wantingto piggyback on it, Gordy now released Run, Run, Run, only to suf-fer a setback when the song made it to only No.93 on the pop chartsand No.22 on the R&B charts.At that point, Gordy must have thought: Now what? The Supremes,a Motown commodity for three years, had not one significant hit.Noother act there survived that long as a loss leader.Worse, the RossBrian Holland liaison seemed for a brief, ugly moment like it mightbackfire and wreck the Supremes growing simpatico with HDH.That moment occurred when Sharon Holland made up her mindto put an end to her husband s fling with Diane.With none of Claudette Robinson s near-saintly all-forgiving na-ture, Sharon decided to have it out with Diane during a Motown eventat the Twenty Grand in February 1964.That night, after eyeing Dianewith a scowl, she began to thread her way through the crowd until shewas standing nose to nose with her.Diane, talking with someone else,didn t know Sharon was right next to her.Turning her head, she wasjolted by those two staring eyes.Making an effort to be nice, Dianewas able to get out Hi Sha when she was cut off by an eruption ofprofanity followed by a warning. If you don t stay away from my man, Sharon screamed, you re adead woman! Even with the noise in the club, she could be heard, and conversa-tions and laughter were stilled as people paused to watch the fightincluding an embarrassed Holland, who stood blank-faced, drink inhand, looking like he wished he could disappear
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]